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Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings is a comforting, delicious homestyle meal that you can make in about an hour. I think you will enjoy this pressure cooker chicken and dumplings recipe. I have included instructions for both biscuit and homemade dumplings!
Originally published on 1/25/18
Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings
Growing up at my house, one of the best things we ate was our mom’s Chicken and Dumplings. She made hers in a cast iron dutch oven. And sometimes I do, too.
Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings are so much faster to make, and taste so good! This recipe makes a fantastic one-pot meal.
This is a recipe that has been in my family forever. I did bump up the flavors a little though. I’m sure that most cultures have a version of this that someone’s mom, nana, or even a dad or grandpa made for them.
Meals like this bring back warm and happy memories of spending time with those we care about, even when they are not right here with us. Food can do that.
Start with getting all of your ingredients gathered together and prepared. Or as the French say. “Mise en place” (everything in place).
Decide which style of dumplings you want to use, and prepare them, too. I was asked which are my favorite. I like the homemade fluffy dumplings. My husband likes the flattened biscuits (he thinks they are more like noodles).
Whichever style you choose will be easy to make, and will taste great!
Now that I’m a Nana I will hopefully be remembered for my pressure cooker chicken and dumplings recipe, among other things!
Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings is a pretty quick meal, considering how delicious and hearty it comes out. Much faster than my mom’s. Thanks to my Instant Pot. Love you Mom!
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Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons Olive Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Butter
- 1 small Onion, diced
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 cup Carrots, chopped (about 2 or 3 carrots)
- 1 cup Celery, chopped (2 stalks)
- 3 large Garlic Cloves, pressed or minced (about 1 Tbsp)
- 1 teaspoon Salt (more to taste)
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Poultry Seasoning
- ½ teaspoon Sage, dried
- 4 sprigs Fresh Thyme, 2 tsp leaves (or ½ tsp dried)
- 1 4" sprig Fresh Rosemary, 2 tsp leaves, minced (or 1 tsp dried & crushed)
- 4 cups Chicken Broth, low sodium
- 1 large Potato, chopped
- 1 ½ lbs Chicken Thighs, and/or Breasts, cubed
To Finish
- 1 cup Frozen Peas (or mixed vegetables)
- ½ cup Heavy Cream
Quick Dumplings
- 6 jumbo Canned Buttermilk Refrigerator Biscuits* (16 oz pkg contains 8)
Homemade Dumplings
- 1 ½ cups Flour
- ¾ tsp Salt
- 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 3 Tablespoons Shortening (such as Crisco®) or Cold Butter
- ¾ cup Whole Milk (or buttermilk)
- ¼ cup Chives, finely chopped (fresh or dried) - Optional
Instructions
Choose the Type of Dumplings You Want to Make, and Prepare Them
Prepare Canned Dumplings
- For the canned biscuits, roll each one flat and cut into 6 equal slices. Do this to all 6 and set aside in a bowl. You can also just cut them and not roll them flat.6 jumbo Canned Buttermilk Refrigerator Biscuits*
Prepare Homemade Dumplings
- Put all ingredients except milk and chives in a bowl and use a pastry cutter or a fork to mix well and incorporate the shortening into the dry ingredients.1 ½ cups Flour, ¾ tsp Salt, 2 teaspoons Baking Powder, 3 Tablespoons Shortening
- Stir the milk (and chives, if using) in and combine, until just moistened. Set aside.¾ cup Whole Milk, ¼ cup Chives,
Prepare the Chicken and Sauce
- Turn the pressure cooker on to the Sauté setting. When the pot is hot, add the olive oil and the butter. Then add the onion and bay leaf. Stir.2 teaspoons Olive Oil, 1 Tablespoon Butter, 1 small Onion,, 1 Bay Leaf
- Add the carrot, celery, and garlic. Cook for a few minutes, scraping the bottom of the pot to get up any brown bits (deglaze).1 cup Carrots,, 1 cup Celery,, 3 large Garlic Cloves,
- Add the salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, sage, thyme, and rosemary. Cook for a few seconds to let the herbs & spices become fragrant.1 teaspoon Salt, ½ teaspoon Black Pepper, ¼ teaspoon Poultry Seasoning, ½ teaspoon Sage,, 4 sprigs Fresh Thyme,, 1 4" sprig Fresh Rosemary,
- Add the chicken broth. Put a glass lid on the pot and let the contents warm up to barely a simmer.4 cups Chicken Broth,
- Add the potato and chicken and stir.1 large Potato,, 1 ½ lbs Chicken Thighs, and/or Breasts,
- Add the dumplings.Homemade: Drop heaping teaspoonfulls into the broth (not too large as they need to cook through, and they expand).Biscuits: Add the sliced biscuits into the broth and gently stir to distribute them.
- Cancel the Sauté function.
- Place the lid on the pot and lock in place. Turn the steam release knob to the sealing position.
- Press the Pressure Cook/Manual button (or dial) and then the + or - button (or dial) to select 7 minutes.
- When the cooking cycle has finished, do a Controlled Quick Release of the steam/pressure. Start by using a wooden spoon or other long handled utensil to turn the steam release knob towards Venting, and start letting the steam out gradually.Do this several times, and back off if any of the sauce starts to spew out with the steam. Then open it all the way when you feel certain only steam will be coming out. It will take a couple of minutes to fully vent.
- When the pin in the lid drops down, open the lid carefully, and stir in the frozen peas or mixed vegetables. You may need to push the dumplings aside if you made the fluffy kind.1 cup Frozen Peas
- Stir in the heavy cream (if using) and put the glass lid on to let it sit and heat through for 3-5 minutes.½ cup Heavy Cream
- Taste and adjust salt, if needed.
- Serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Resources to Make Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings Recipe
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Wow! This has to be the 3rd or 4th time I’ve made your recipe and each time it gets devoured! My 7 year old calls the fluffy biscuits, “clouds” and he will pull up a step stool and start fishing them out of the pot eating them shortly after dinner is done. My 10 year old is his “look out” as long as his little brother fishes out a few for him too!
I have never had chicken and dumplings as a child (Chinese dumplings with chicken in it… Not quite the same at all), but my husband did. He said this was so much better than what he grew up eating (Irish household).
We did not add peas (not a fave here) and didn’t even need to use the heavy cream at the end. The spices really makes this dish AH-MAY-ZING!!! We always double the amount of chicken thighs ❤️ we thank you!!!
Hi Lena! That is so cute that your boys love the homemade dumplings! Home cooked food like this will be a part of their memories when they grow up. So precious! Thank you for your review, it made me smile!
This may sound like a dump question. There are only two of of us so I always have leftovers. How do you store the chicken and dumplings without leaving them in the instant pot liner. If I dump them into another container the dumplings will no longer be on the top. Any sggestion besides picking the dumplings off the top?
I was going to suggest removing the dumplings, putting the rest in a container, then set the dumplings on top before putting the lid back on.
I made this tonight and used butter instead of shortening. I also didn’t put celery and carrots cause my youngest doesn’t eat veggies (besides beans). The flavor was awesome and my whole family loved it! The dumplings came out brown instead of light color though? Is that cause I used butter? It also took like 7 min to vent and wondered if that “browned” the dumplings? I’m just getting used to using my Instapot! Thanks
I’m not sure if the butter browned them. There is a chemical reaction called the Maillard reaction, and that may be what browned them.
What am I missing here…? I don’t see how the chicken is cooked and introduced.
Hi John, the ingredients are listed in order of appearance. In my recipe the chicken is one of the last ingredients added, and is done so in step 5.
This turned out great! Thank you for sharing. This one is a keeper!!
This is definitely a keeper! It was easy and very tasty for supper, and leftovers worked well for lunch too.
Thank you!
We just made this tonight with only a couple very minor adjustments (due to me not wanting to go to the store so we went with what we had.) I used half and half for the heavy cream since we always have half and half. I made homemade dumplings because I love them and they are easy enough to make homemade.
The whole family here loved this and we will definitely be making it again 🙂 I tried to leave a 5 star rating but it wouldn’t let me click on the stars.
I made this last night for the first time and oh holy amazing. Hubby was even drawn out of the basement by the glorious smells. It was delicious. I used bone in thighs but removed the skin (like my grandma used to make). Definitely on the recipe keeper list.
That’s great, Tammy! Thank you!
Wow! This might be the best. Not just the best Instant Pot or Chicken and Dumpling recipe. But the best recipe, period. The first chicken and dumpling recipe I tried in the Instant pot was just so so. This was perfect. The only thing I changed was I used frozen peas and carrots instead of fresh carrots. That worked great. I will definitely be making this again. Oh, and I used the homemade version of the dumplings.
Dana! I am so flattered! I’m really happy that you enjoyed my recipe! Thank you for your kind review!
I’m dairy free. Is there any chance coconut cream would work? I’m afraid it would alter the taste too much.
I think coconut cream would alter the taste, as you said. How about unsweetened almond milk?
This recipe was excellent!!! I always use Tyler Florence’s recipe for Chicken and dumplings which is delicious, but takes significantly more time and effort. This was just as good and took a fraction of the time! I will definitely be making it again! I
Okay this is the first time my recipe has been compared to TF! I’m very flattered! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Julie. Thank you for your review!
I successfully made a batch and a half in a 6 qt. Doubling the recipe wouldn’t fit. There was enough for my family of 4 for dinner and leftovers for tomorrow.